Justin

This post contains problems that several GTAForums users have had with Grand Theft Auto Vice City on PC along with various solutions that have fixed their problems. For details on problems related to PS2 see the post below written by Spuds725.

Here's the deal. You post a bug you've encountered in the Help & Support section and we try to find a solution to it. Once we get an answer, this topic will be updated with the bug and the solution for public viewing. If you see a bug in this topic and you have an alternate solution to it, don't hesitate to post. Remember, this topic is for genuine glitches or bugs with legal versions of Vice City. As always, no warez. We don't want to become a breeding ground for people to cheat our friends at Rockstar out of their hard-earned income. If you have an illegal copy, keep it to yourself. Frankly, you deserve any problems you encounter. This topic, and indeed the entire Vice City Forum, is for unmodded versions of Vice City. If you've got a problem and you're using mods, the problem is most likely the mods - no questions. If you've got a problem and you 'know' it's not the mods, uninstall the mods and ask for help then, and only then. Don't waste our time by posting issues with modded games! All modding discussions should be directed at the Modding Forum!

First things first. Ensure your system meets or exceeds the minimum (or ideally, the recommended) system requirements as released by Rockstar: GTA Vice City PC Specifications.

Before posting a question, please make sure to visit Rockstar Support. You should also make sure you have the most update drivers for your video and sound cards. Visit your video/sound card manufacturer's website to download the latest drivers.

Always try deleting the gta_vc.set file (Documents\GTA Vice City User Files\gta_vc.set) and re-install Vice City before posting a new topic. Re-installing can perform miracles!

Once you have checked out Rockstar Support, be sure to read the Troubleshooting Posting Requirements which can also be found pinned in the Help & Support section. Be sure to read this thoroughly before posting a topic detailing your problem. It is also suggested to use the search function for the forums before asking a question, as, although we try, it is both possible and indeed likely that this topic does not list every problem/solution discussed on these boards over the years. And, if after all other avenues have been exhausted, you find yourself with a problem that we just can't find an answer to, you can email Rockstar Games directly for technical support at [email protected]. Be sure to report back to us with any valuable working solutions or information Rockstar can provide.

Problem 1:Textures take too long to load in the mission The Driver - Hillary may even fall through the bridge; or when loading a saved game or starting a new one, the 'loading' screen (pink text) remains on screen for far too long.

Solution: Toggle the Frame Limiter (if it's off, turn it on - if it's on, turn it off). This is achieved by navigating to the Pause Menu > Display Setup > Frame Limiter. Adjusting the Draw Distance settings may also be of help.

Alternatively: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Alternatively: If your computer is using a weak graphics card, you should lower the resolution of the game to 640x480 or 800x600 (1024x768 or above is not recommended. For users with more powerful cards, make sure that anti-aliasing and anisotrpic filtering for either ATi's Catalyst/nVidia's ForceWare are set to "Application Preference" and that Mip-mapping and Texturing are set to "High Performance" - you should also do that to every other setting. Note that resetting these display properties to the factory defaults is another way to do this.

Alternatively: Go into ATi's Catalyst Control Center, and enable something in the DirectX 3D settings called "Enable geometry instancing". While this rarely helps, it may give a boost in games that uses a lot of geometry such as GTA. It is unknown if an equivalent setting exists in nVIDIA's control panel.

Problem 2:Vice City crashes after a certain amount of time, with no obvious catalyst for the crash.

Solution: Your computer may have overheating or RAM issues. Open Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL or by right clicking the Task Bar and selecting 'Task Manager') and end all non-essential processes.

Advice: Defragment your hard drive, and check for things like spyware and viruses. There are many free utilities available for this - Simply search for Spybot, Ad-aware, AVG Free, etc. on the internet. Please note that spybot and ad-aware are resource hogs in my experience and may slow down your system. For better system performance, it is a good idea to uninstall them after running them on your system.

Problem 3:The game's Graphics and Textures are not displaying correctly in the game.

Solution: Update your video drivers. Yes, this is stated in the above introduction, but is particularly relevant with this problem. You do not require the 1.1 patch. This has been since outdated by updated video card drivers, and installing it will achieve nothing.

Problem 4:Vice City periodically locks up with the sound still playing.

Solution: Disable custom MP3s or rename MP3 files that have long file names - This seems to cause problems within the game.]

Alternatively: Re-install the game with the optional 'radio stations'. This means the game will run solely off the hard drive, thus giving better performance on most machines (although worse performance on older machines).

Alternatively: Roll back your drivers to an older version - Newer nVIDIA drivers apparently aren't the best for use with Vice City. One of the recommended versions of nVIDIA drivers is version 61.76.

Problem 5:The player continually spins and spins and will not stop.

Solution: Usually, there is a rouge controller that has fallen down the side of your desk or something. Check all controllers, mice, keyboards, etc. - any input devices connected to your PC - and make sure that no keys or buttons are pressed in. Also make sure to not press any buttons while the game is loading.

Alternatively: Unplug and disable (through the Gaming Options in Control Panel) any game pad devices that you aren't using for Vice City. For controllers or game pads which have a 'Z' axis (or throttle), the throttle options must all be set to 0%. Such options include dead zone, sensitivity and range. It should be noted that steering wheels and/or pedals are not supported for Vice City.

Solution: This is an indication of a read error. Inspect your disc and try to remove all scratches, smudges, marks etc. It may be a fault of the drive itself, in which case you'll have to replace it with a functioning one.

Alternatively: This often occurs with burnt copies of the game - especially those created with Clone CD. If you have an illegal copy, see the introduction above. Don't mention it here; we don't want to hear about it. Go out and buy the game if you expect it to work for you.

Alternatively: End all non-essential processes, including anti-virus and Window Blinds.

Alternatively: Close any emulation-type software such as Clone CD/DVD, Nero Burning Rom or Daemon Tools.

Alternatively: If you are using Windows 98 or SE, turn off Active Desktop (if it is on).

Alternatively: If you have an alternative disc drive, try installing from that. Some drives have compatibility problems with newer copy protection schemes. You should also update the firmware drivers for your disc drive.

Problem 7:An Unhandled Exception error occurs.

Solution:This is usually due to main.scm mods. With any alteration to the mission script, you usually have to start a new game.

Alternatively: Open Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL or by right clicking the Task Bar and selecting 'Task Manager') and end all non-essential processes. It is reported that Window Blinds in particular causes issues with Vice City if running alongside it - you may need to end its process.

Alternatively: Uninstall your mouse drivers and use the Windows generic default one. If you don't know how to setup your mouse correctly when using these mouse drivers (e.g. Logitech MouseWare), it may cause problems. Also, make sure you click on 'Restore Defaults' when in Controller Setup. This sets the mouse sensitivity settings back to the defaults. You should also make sure that the mouse pointer speed/precision settings are set to the middle in Control Panel.

Advice: Clean your mouse. If you have a regular mouse, clean the rollers and the mouse ball. If you have an optical mouse, clean the bottom of it. Please note that if you don't achieve 20-30fps during gameplay, your mouse will also lag.

Problem 9:When running the executable, the screen just flashes. gta-vc.exe appears in the task list for a moment, and then disappears.

Solution: Delete the gta_vc.set file. Instructions on how to do so are in the introduction (which you should have read beforehand), above.

Problem 10:When using a sniper rifle, it just goes 'bang'. The bullets don't fire. All the other weapons work correctly.

Solution: Uninstall the blood patch. If you're using an external modification/application (for example, a trainer), cease to do so.

Problem 11:Vice City will not run after installation - instead, when clicking the icon to start, the Play CD spins and the pointer icon turns into a spinning-CD symbol, but the game never starts (and the pointer may not go back to normal until restarting Windows).

Solution: End all running non-essential processes - whether it be an anti-virus, Window Blinds, whatever. This fix has also been reported to work by closing [email protected] and a startup program called "BigFix".

Alternatively: If you notice a new piece of hardware called "secdrv" attempting to install itself, Windows may be mistaking some software for hardware. Go to Device Manager and look for a big yellow question mark (indicating hardware with no driver). If one stands next to "secdrv", delete it

Alternatively: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Problem 12:When performing a Unique Jump, the camera locks in slow-motion and does not release the view - it just stays in slow-motion.

Solution: This is not so much a fix but a work around. ALT+TAB out of the game. Once out, click on Vice City on your task bar. ALT+TAB back in. If this does not release you, repeating the process a second time should do the trick.

Alternatively: A fix/patch was created by Demarest to fix this bug, available here.(Re-hosted by Spuds725).

Problem 13:'Test Track' or 'Trial by Dirt' time is not displayed in the game statistics. In some games there is a glitch in these checkpoints (this glitch exists on PS2 and PC - just not every copy has it) - for whatever reason, in some people's games, one of these times will not register unless the other is done - and then the times for both will be the same. Depending on what order you do them will affect whether one or both will be in your stats. This can prevent you from getting 100%.

Solution: Do 'Trial by Dirt' again, check your stats to see if you have a time for both. If not, do 'Test Track' and check your stats again. If it still doesn't have a time for both, do 'Trial by Dirt' again - you should now have a time for both and it will be the same for both checkpoints.

Problem 14:After the mission Two Bit Hit for Avery, the Cuban outfit icon is visible in the little store in Little Havana, but is unreachable - there is an invisible wall blocking access to it.

Further explanation of this bug from Demarest: When you pass Two Bit Hit, the outfit pickup is created in the correct place. Missions that require you to be using a specific outfit are made to destroy all clothes pickups and recreate them after the job. Both Cop Land and No Escape? recreate the Cuban pickup in the wrong place. This is known as the Cuban outfit bug. It's not a random occurrence either; it WILL happen that way.

Solution: The order you do missions affects whether this clothes icon is reachable. If you finish Copland (a Vercetti mission) and No Escape? (a Malibu mission) prior to completing Two Bit Hit, it will be reachable.

Physical Solution: Get a PCJ 600 and park it in the doorway. Blow it up. Jump on top of it, face the icon, now jump toward it. It might take you a few tries - you will fall through 'grey hell' momentarily and land in front of the shop - if you hit the icon on your jump you will change clothes.

Solution: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Alternatively: Set the affinity of the running gta-vc.exe process to one core rather than two. This is achieved by opening Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL or by right clicking the Task Bar and selecting 'Task Manager'), right-clicking the process and selecting Set Affinity... Then, ensure just a single box is ticked. Note that this must be done once Vice City is running.

Alternatively: Enable the Frame Limiter and VSync.

Problem 16:There are problems changing the resolution of Vice City; and/or the game crashes upon 'ALT+TAB'ing out back to the desktop.

Solution: It should be noted that the resolution can only be changed upon initially running the game (i.e. not after a gameplay has begun). Therefore, quit Vice City. Load it up again, and before anything else is done, simply head to display options and change the resolution. You must select the desired resolution with the directional keys and hit Enter to confirm.

Alternatively Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Alternatively Uninstall any additional media codecs you may have installed previously.

Alternatively Delete the gta_vc.set file. Instructions on how to do so are in the introduction (which you should have read beforehand), above.

Alternatively Download and run 3D Analyze. Use this program to force Vice City to run in windowed mode. Resolution should now be able to be changed without problems. Change it as desired - this new resolution will function when the game is next run normally (i.e. without 3D Analyze). This process may have to be repeated for every resolution change desired. Source.

Alternatively Uninstall Real Player if you have it installed.

Problem 17:Sounds echo when playing Vice City. This often occurs with all sounds except for the radio.

Solution: Update your sound drivers! Yes, this is stated in the above introduction, but is particularly relevant with this problem.

Alternatively: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Alternatively: Change your hardware sound acceleration to a different setting. This is achieved through: Start -> Run -> dxdiag, clicking the Sound tab and moving the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level slider to a different position; or by going to Advanced Speaker Settings through Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices.

Alternatively: Through Control Panel, disable any volumetric or advanced audio effects that may be enabled in your sound configuration (e.g. environmental audio).

See this thread for more information regarding onboard and Realtek sound cards.

Problem 18:The mouse doesn't work during VC gameplay, but works flawlessly elsewhere (e.g. the desktop). The pointer may move while browsing the game menus, but cannot click, and scrolling doesn't work.

Problem 19:Vice City crashes right after the intro movie, offering the ever-helpful "gta-vc.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close".

Solution: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Problem 20:After changing the compatibility mode of gta-vc.exe, it is impossible to sprint, blow the horn, or skip cutsceses via the Shift key.

Solution: Click on "Restore Defaults" when in the Controller Setup menu to refresh the SET file.

Problem 21:During gameplay, the sky constantly flickers and the menu appears messy with horizontal and vertical lines as well as annoying character maps.

Solution: Update your video drivers. Yes, this is stated in the above introduction, but is particularly relevant with this problem. You do not require the 1.1 patch. This has been since outdated by updated video card drivers, and installing it will achieve nothing.

Alternatively: Toggle the Frame Limiter (if it's off, turn it on - if it's on, turn it off). This is achieved by navigating to the Pause Menu > Display Setup > Frame Limiter. Adjusting the Draw Distance settings may also be of help.

Alternatively: Experiment with different resolutions in display setup, and a different colour quality (16/32 bit)

Alternatively: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Alternatively: For nVIDIA cards, go into the Forceware Control Panel and set every DirectX/3D settings to be "Application" as well as "High Performance". For ATi cards, go into the Catalyst Control Centre and set every DirectX/3D settings to be "Application Preference" as well as "High Performance". You might want to play around with the VSync and the Refresh Rate as well, in addition to things like Double/Triple Buffering and Bilinear/Trilinear Filtering. Note: If your graphics card driver doesn't come with a display companion, check these settings in 'dxdiag.exe' (Display tab) or 'Display Properties' in the Control Panel. Also, some of the newer Radeon HD cards and the GeForce 8 series such as the infamous GeForce 8800GTS normally have advanced settings which affects older games. You should keep in mind that you might need to disable those features.

Advice: Uninstall older drivers before installing newer ones. It just might cause conflict with the older driver and then the graphics hardware renders horrendous graphics referred to as "sky flickering". So for example if you had a Radeon and you upgraded it to a GeForce 8 card, uninstall the driver for the Radeon before installing the newest drivers for the GeForce 8. Naturally, in such a scenario, the SET file should also be deleted.

Problem 22:Bugs occur when accelerating a vehicle - the car scrapes on the ground and is not steady. The problem may only arise periodically.

Solution: Exit Vice City fully, and load up your game again.

Alternatively: Direct Tommy to an area not nearby any cars or traffic. Now press the Windows key and resume gameplay. Once you enter a vehicle, the bug shouldn't appear. Save your game after doing this.

Alternatively: Load up a save file that doesn't have this bug or simply start a new game, and then load up the one that has it. If still no luck, keep exiting and loading your save file until the acceleration bug goes away. Remember to save when this bug is cured.

Alternatively: In an instance where the problem doesn't occur (e.g. after a fresh install at the beginning of the game), exit the game once you've confirmed the problem does not exist. Then browse to the data folder of your install directory (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\data), and set handling.cfg and default.ide to "read only" in their file attributes (via right-click -> Properties). This seems to be a viable solution as it appears, for whatever reason, the game is writing funky values to the handling files - which holds with the theories behind the alternative solutions.

Problem 23:Pressing the F1 key crashes Vice City.

Solution: This is a known bug. The F1-Replay effect is buggy and in certain situations where textures are loaded, pressing the F1 key right in the middle of this event crashes the game. Don't press on the F1 key when cheat codes are already used. There are times when the ESC key does this ridiculous behaviour too. You'll regret having to start over from the beginning; use the F1 key at your own risks!

Problem 24:Triggering a garage door freezes/crashes the game.

Solution: Download a garage editor (VC Admin Console or LithJoe's Ultimate Trainer as listed in the Downloads Database are recommended) and remove all vehicles from the garage at fault.

Problem 25:A "not enough video memory" occurs.

Solution: Reinstall your video drivers. Also make sure that in 'Display Properties', your hardware acceleration level is set to 'Full'. Confirm that all DirectX/3D features are enabled in 'dxdiag' as well.

Solution: Make sure you have at least 32+MB of VRAM.

Problem 26:After applying the 1.1 patch, how would one go about 'down-grading' to the original version 1.0?

Solution: Reinstall Vice City.

Alternatively: Insert the Install disc and copy the gta-vc.exe file from this disc and paste it into your install directory (overwrite the 1.1 EXE when prompted).

Problem 27:Vice City will not work on Windows Vista or XP.

Solution: Update your video and audio drivers. Yes, this is stated in the above introduction, but is particularly relevant with this problem, as most issues arise from not having Vista-compatible drivers that function with the game.

Alternatively: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Problem 28:Sirens on applicable vehicles do not work.

Solution: Tap the horn key. Tap it. As quickly as possible. This is a serial problem across all consoles, and can always be attributed to the unsuspecting gamer simply not tapping the horn key fast enough.

Problem 29:Saved games are not located in the typical My Documents\GTA Vice City User Files directory (often when running Windows Vista).

Alternatively: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Problem 30:Game displays a black screen when loading a saved game or starting a mission-- this problem may be specific to Windows 7 OS and/or a particular video card.

Solution: Turn the frame limiter ON in your settings-- you can turn if back off during missions after the cut scene but if you have this problem try this solution. Source.

Solution 2: It has been reported that turning on the frame limiter can cause other issues affecting game performance-- an alternate solution for this (and possibly any other issue with a "Frame Limiter" solution is to go into your video card's settings and "Force ON" Vsync (aka Vertical Sync)-- and apparently this will allow you to play with the frame limiter off.

For specific instructions on how to do this on your card-- either search on google for: force on vsync [Enter your card maker brand-- ie ATI, Nvidea, etc and/or your card model]--- or can also search youtube this way-- a quick search yielded me several videos that will walk you through how to enable that setting.

Problem 31:Vice City is unable to start up due to your video card not supporting lower resolutions-- specifically it does not support 640x480 resolution- this is VC's "native" resolution (i.e. the resolution the game starts in if you have never played it before)-- if your card does not support this resolution (and many newer PCs cards don't) the game will hang up upon start up.

Solution:Try one or both of the following settings files that Spuds725 has rehosted... one is at 800x600 and the other is at 1280x720

Put the above file in the appropriate file created by the game upon install... on XP is should be under your profile inside of my documents.... for example on my machine it is located

C:\Documents and Settings\Bill\My Documents\GTA Vice City User Files\

After you have adjusted your resolution "in game" your settings are stored in the gta_vc.set file-- once you get the game functioning it would probably be a good idea to back up your gta_vc.set file in another location.

Please note that you can only adjust your video settings at game start (before loading or starting a new game)-- you cannot pause and adjust them.

NOTE: the above gta_vc.set files were made on my PC-- they have worked for a few other people with this problem, but there is no promises that they will work on your machine.

Solution: Toggle the frame limiter--- if it is off turn it on or if it is on turn it off. It has been reported that doing either of these (usually the problem is with the frame limiter being off) will allow the vehicle to go faster on water. The cause of this is unknown but the solution has been reported to work.... this has specifically be reported to fix the problem in the Sea Plane in "Dildo Dodo" and in the boat in "Stunt Boat Challenge".

This has also been reported as a fix for the mission "Checkpoint Charlie" if the boat cannot go full speed.

Problem 33:While playing game on a newer PC the game works fine other then with Tommy in a vehicle in which case the car will NOT go in reverse. The white reverse lights on the car light up but the car does not move.

Solution 1: Set the Compatibility Mode of the GTA Vice City Executable File to 'Windows 98'. To do this, find 'gta-vc.exe' in your games folder (Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe). Right click the file, select 'Properties', click the 'Compatibility' tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' choosing 'Windows 98' from the available options. Apply the changes, and then click OK.

Solution 2: If the above does not work or is already selected. On the same Compatibility tab as before-- Tick the Check box next to "Disable Visual Themes" and then click apply.

Problem 1:'Test Track' or 'Trial by Dirt' time is not displayed in your in stats - in some games there is a glitch in these checkpoints (this glitch exists on PS2 and PC - just not every copy has it) - for whatever reason, in some people's games, one of these times will not register unless the other is done and then the times for both will be the same, and depending on what order you do them will affect whether one or both will be in your stats. This can prevent you from getting 100%.

Solution: Do 'Trial by Dirt' again, check your stats to see if you have a time for both. If not, do 'Test Track' and check your stats again. If it still doesn't have a time for both, do 'Trial by Dirt' again - you should now have a time for both and it will be the same for both checkpoints. Credit to Spuds725 for the solution.

Problem 2:Missing hidden package/jump/rampage/anything.

Solution: Remove your memory card. Turn your PS2 off and back on - let a brand new game start - click through the cut scenes if you don't want to watch them again. When you can control Tommy, pause, insert your memory card, and reload your saved game. Supposedly this will reset your jumps and hidden packages that are missing and you will be able to complete them now. You will still need to land the unique jumps correctly to make them register. Solution found by illspirit and posted by Opius. Discussion on this trick (with relation to rampages) here.

It should be noted that: in most cases, this is not a glitch. You've either passed the rampage/jump/collected the package and forgotten to save afterwards for whatever reason - therefore knowing you've completed the task but it not being recorded in the stats; or you're trying the wrong jump/package (i.e. you've already collected that package/completed that jump and are actually missing another). It pays to re-try every possibility, despite how tedious and time-consuming this is.

Problem 3:Stats say I completed level 12 Vigilante but I don't have 150 maximum armor and I can't get 100%.

Solution: Do Vigilante to level 12 (again). In some games (mine included) it says I've completed level 12 Vigilante when I hadn't. This will sometimes occur if you start a new game from an existing save and the game doesn't reset all the stats in your new game. Either you haven't do it yet; or you did it and reloaded from a point prior to completing it and just forgot. Just do it again - its fun. Found by Spuds725.

Problem 4:After the mission 'Two Bit Hit' for Avery, the Cuban outfit icon is visible in the little store in Little Havana, but I can't reach it - there is an invisible wall blocking access to it.

Further explanation of this bug from Demarest: When you pass Two Bit Hit, the outfit pickup is created in the correct place. Missions that require you to be using a specific outfit are made to destroy all clothes pickups and recreate them after the job. Both Cop Land and No Escape? recreate the Cuban pickup in the wrong place. This is known as the Cuban outfit bug. It's not a random occurance either; it WILL happen that way.

Solution: The order you do missions affects whether this clothes icon is reachable. If you finish 'Copland' (a Vercetti mission) and 'No Escape?' (a Malibu mission) prior to completing 'Two Bit Hit', it will be reachable. Posted by Aviator79.

Physical Solution: Get a PCJ 600 and park it in the doorway. Blow it up. Jump on top of it, face the icon, now jump toward it. It might take you a few tries - you will fall through 'grey hell' momentarily and land in front of the shop - if you hit the icon on your jump you will change clothes. This was told to me by Acidman in June 2003 - not sure if he found it.

Problem 5:Not all my weapons are spawning at the Hyman Condo. This problem is only on PS2 (as far as I know).

Solution: None. This is a known bug. There is a bug with the weapon spawning at the Hyman Condo on PS2 - if you buy it before you have collected 70 packages, you won't get all the weapons there, only the ones available to you at the point where you buy it. For example, if you only have say 31 packages when you purchase the Condo, the best weapon you can get there will be the Colt Python. This is just something to keep in mind - it doesn't do this at the other save points with weapons and I'm reasonably certain this was fixed on PC and Xbox - maybe even in the 2nd edition of VC... but the glitch is there in the original PS2 version. The only way to avoid this bug is by collecting 70 or more hidden packages prior to purchasing the Condo.

Problem 6:After starting a new mission I pause and start a new game from the pause menu and immediately die or get busted after starting the new game. A cab spawns with an arrow above it. I get in and it delivers me to where I started a mission from before I started a new game.

Solution: None. This is a known bug. The game thinks you are still on a mission. When you die or get busted it takes you back to the mission start point. This is a way to get to the second island without doing any missions - see below.

Load up the game and start a mission that is given to you on the west island. Now pause and start a new game. After new game starts, die or get busted - when you appear at hospital or police station there will be a cab there with an arrow. Get in it, it will deliver you to the place where you were given the mission (second island if that is where you started the mission from). Found by DOHC and discussed here.

Problem 7:The game takes long to load during startup and the PS2 reads like crazy!

Solution: Clean the disc and try not to scratch it. Some PS2s have better reading capabilities such as Slim PS2 vs. Original PS2.

Problem 8:Textures take a long time to load up in some places.

Solution: This is a rare bug for PS2. Normally the only thing that doesn't load up fast enough is the road where you will occasionally see water on top of it. If this problem also happens elsewhere, it doesn't hurt to clean the disc.

If the Disk is scratched there are some game stores that can polish the disk surfaces and will help with light scratches

Problem 8b (related to 8):Character skins in cut scenes and accompanied general slow loading times not solved by cleaning the disk.

Solution: This can be caused by a dirty laser lens on the PS2, the slim line models are more susceptible to this as the lens is more likely exposed to dirt/debris when the flip up top door is open, it can still occur on the thicker model. To clean the lens: Get some 99.9% Rubbing Alcohol (not wintergreen alcohol as the dye in it will damage the lens) . Take a Q-tip and dip one end of it in the alcohol, let it drip and rub the laser lens thoroughly. Now use the dry end of the Q-tip to dry the lens. Blow on the lens to get any cotton debris that may have came off the Q-tip. The thicker model cover will have to have the cover removed to do this.

Problem 9:I was in a helicopter and it caught fire. All of a sudden, it explodes and the game freezes leaving my controller vibrating indefinitely.

Solution: None. This does not happen everytime and only in a rare extent it will. If this happens and your controller vibrates rapidly, restart your PS2 or plug out the controller.

Advice: Try not to use cheatcodes.

Problem 10:My game is taking forever to start/end a mission cutscene.

Solution: None. This seems to be the game's programming fault, but you could try also cleaning the disc. This can also be the result of a dirty laser lens-- see Problem 8b.

Problem 11:At the loading screen, the game takes forever to load.

Solution: This normally has something to do with certain memory cards which might be deemed corrupted. Usually saving the game more than once on that specific save file or on a different save slot will help. If you still have issues, clean the disc.

Advice: If you saved the game while cheatcodes were used, then it may contribute to this problem.

Solution: None, apart from cleaning the disc. This has something to do with how the game was programmed itself, but should clear up in a few minutes.

Advice: Avoid using cheatcodes as well as GameShark/Action Replay, and the like.

Problem 13:After failing a mission in the Downtown area, I spawn at the stadium with all my weapons.

Solution: If you fail the Bloodring when you run out of time, you will not actually die in the Bloodring. After you exit the stadium event, then the effect of the dying carries over outside in the Downtown area - so if you die, you are transported back to the stadium with all your weapons. Also, this glitch may actually change your existing clothes back to street clothes. Source.

Alternatively: Another reason for this is because the stadium events is just like any ordinary mission. If you get "mission failed", you will not die. As for the stadiums, you can die as well get mission failed. So after dying outside of the stadium events, the death sequence that was supposed to happen at the stadium, will occur in Vice City instead. Try to die, and the game will spawn you in front of Hyman Stadium.

Alternatively: This glitch also happens because of the message "Mission failed". If you were to fail the Bloodring, the game brings this message up in Vice City and a conflict will occur if you try to die since normally when you get mission failed, the game thinks you died as well.

Advice: Make sure that when you are in a stadium, either complete it fully or go directly into the pink marker to allow the game to spawn you properly back to Vice City - try not to fail it. However, the glitch will not occur if you get wasted as well as mission failed since you died in a stadium which then lessens the "death sequence" conflict when you spawn back to Vice City. This glitch normally can be fixed by saving and reloading. But if that doesn't work, you can clear the memory by exiting Vice City and loading again. Another way as mentioned above is to die 2 times (one for when you were supposed to die in the stadium, and one for Vice City). The only way for this glitch to appear again is if you do one of the stadium events, particularly the Bloodring which seems to be the main contributor.

Problem 14:Sirens on applicable vehicles do not work.

Solution: Tap the horn key. Tap it. As quickly as possible. This is a serial problem across all consoles, and can always be attributed to the unsuspecting gamer simply not tapping the horn key fast enough.

Problem 15:Cheats don't work when playing on XBox 360 despite typing them correctly.

Solution: Type in the cheats but replace the black and white buttons with the left and right bumpers.

Problem 16:Side mission vehicle does not spawn where it is supposed to spawn. It has been reported on the PS2 version being played on a PS3 that the Top Fun Van that starts the RC Racer race does not spawn at all. On PS2, some vehicles won't spawn some times. This solution will cover both occurrences.

Most vehicle spawning problems are caused by the game console trying to conserve it's resources. So when approaching an area rapidly (whether driving or flying)-- the game is drawing all the buildings/plants, which have a higher priority then vehicles-- if the game can't draw everything it will drop lower priority items... vehicles are low priority.Common vehicles not spawning due to the above.... Hunter in Ocean Beach, Hunter at Fort Baxter, Limo at Mansion, Sea Sparrow at Mansion, Pizza boy at Vice Point, and Stallion for Cone Crazy although any vehicle may not spawn due to this.

Solution 1 (for vehicles not spawning sometimes): Try approaching the area slowly-- on foot or just driving or flying slowly. Specific spawning solutions...

Hunter at Fort Baxter-- When approaching from the east in a Maverick at full speed, the hunter spawns less then 1/2 the time on my PS2-- Flying off a short distance to the north and approaching again slower makes it spawn... if it doesn't you probably didn't fly far enough away.... approaching from the north, the game will be drawing less items when it is supposed to be spawning the hunter--- due to the approach over water.

Hunter at Ocean Beach-- this frequently won't spawn when arriving from any direction in a car when driving fast. Exit the car, run north the the Ammunation and back and it will respawn.

Limo at mansion- Leave Starfish Island and come back... it seems that the approach from the east is more likely to make it spawn.

Sea Sparrow-- I know when approaching the Mansion from the north in a heli-- if you fly around the maze side of the Mansion it won't spawn. Flying from the Pool side of the mansion it usually does-- it is also less likely to spawn if you Reload at the mansion and exit the back door. But if you exit the front door and run around to the back it will usually spawn.

Solution 2 (for specific side mission vehicles not spawning): For the specific problem of the Top Fun van not spawning for the RC Car Race-- bring one of the other Top Fun Vans to the track. Park it where the van is supposed to be. Exit and get back in and the Race will start. Solution Verified here by dave_robbo.

This solution should work for any side mission vehicle that does not spawn. I have verified it does work for-- Cone Crazy (Stallion), PCJ Playground (PCJ 600), Any Chopper Checkpoint side mission (Sparrow). It should work on any of the other sides also--- Test track, Trial by Dirt, Checkpoint Charlie, etc.. although these have not been verified.

The Chopper checkpoints, you don't even have to exit--- just land and take off from the spot where it starts and it will start-- I found this as a result of trying to lower my chopper checkpoint times... this is a way to trim your time as you can do a bump landing at high speed and have considerable momentum saving quite a bit of time-- the heli won't have to spin up its rotors and take off.

Proper location for Top Fun Van for RC Car Race (on beach)-- this is a PS3 specific problem....

Problem 17:I have Vice City saves on a memory card and buy a new disk and the saves from the previous game cannot be loaded.

Solution: There are 3 different PS2 versions of Vice City... these versions are NOT compatible with one another so the saves from one version will NOT work on another. If you want to use your earlier saves, you will need to locate a version of the game the same as your previous version. Here are the 3 versions:

1 - Original Release, for sale from around October 2002 until January 2004.2 - First Double Pack Release (III and VC), not haitian friendly. This included changes/fixes made to the PC & xbox versions. For sale from around January 2004 until June 2004.3 - Haitian friendly Release - Should include later double packs, haitian friendly stand alone, Greatest hits, & triple pack. For sale after Summer 2004.

Problem 18:The pool doors at the back of the mansion open when I try to do the "Rub Out" Diaz mission? It is stopping me from completing the mission!

This happens rarely depending on what you do throughout playing Vice City. A simple solution would be to pilot a helicopter and bring it up onto the top floor of the mansion where another entrance lies. Note that Lance doesn't have to follow you as he eventually spawns next to you (doesn't have to). It has been reported that the roof doors are sealed too if you have this glitch.

It is unknown what causes this glitch.

Solution: Do the "Walk through Walls" trick. Park a vehicle near the front door of the mansion.

Run next to the wall near the vehicle and you will go through the wall. The interior will not load, but Diaz will be in there. Go upstairs and shoot him til he dies (he won't shoot back), then exit the big room (go to the hallways to the east)-- as soon as you get far enough away, the cutscene will play ending the mission. The Fast game play from the cheat above will stop after the mission ends.

The cheat code should be safe to use-- the affects of the cheat (fast gameplay) end when the mission is completed.

To do without cheats, you may be able to enter the mansion by flying under vice city and flying up into it then jumping out. I have yet to verify that this will work-- I did try for about an hour one day-- was able to fly into the mansion but when I jumped out I would not "land" inside.

326ReMiX326

I dont get that when u said about when the cd spins and dont stop spinnin, well i have a problem wer it spins and wont stop spinnin and game doesnt come and u sed to go on www.take2games.com and well i click on it and den wer do i go????

Justin

I dont get that when u said about when the cd spins and dont stop spinnin, well i have a problem wer it spins and wont stop spinnin and game doesnt come and u sed to go on www.take2games.com and well i click on it and den wer do i go????

Rightio. Take2Games tech support for newbies then.

Go to Take2Games.com. Click the 'support' button at the top of the page. Choose 'Grand Theft Auto Vice City (*platform here*) from the drop-down menu. Under 'Options for Grand Theft Auto: Vice Ci..', click the 'Technical Help' link. Choose your appropriate problem from the list.

CPSC92

Problem #15:After installing Windows XP Pro with SP2, English version, and then installing Vice City, VC will not run after installation - instead, when clicking the icon to start, the Play CD spins and the pointer icon turns into a spinning-CD symbol, but the game never starts. (And the pointer never goes back to normal until restarting Windows.)

Solution: The next time the PC was started after installing the game, I noticed that a new piece of hardware was trying to install, called "secdrv." Go to Device Manager, look for a big yellow ? mark to indicate hardware with no driver, and there was secdrv. Deleted secdrv from the Device Manager and the game started up fine after.

Alternatively - My fix was to go to the main program "gta-vc" in C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Grand Theft Auto Vice City\gta-vc.exe. Right Click on it and choose Properties. Select Compatibility tab and change the Compatibility Mode to Run this program in compatibility mode for: then change to "Windows 98 / Windows ME".

I've tried both of these solutions with no change in result. I still cannot start GTA.

In my case, I had GTA-VC running on my older PC. I just purchased a new PC and did a fresh install. It works on the old PC and not on the new PC. There are many differences between the 2 systems, but I can confirm the Media is OK.

The two most obvious differences - OLD PC: CD rom and XP SP1; New PC DVD-R and XP SP2

I have seen this error posted by many people in a number of forums, but nobody has any suggestions that seem to address the root cause.

Justin

I've tried both of these solutions with no change in result. I still cannot start GTA.

In my case, I had GTA-VC running on my older PC. I just purchased a new PC and did a fresh install. It works on the old PC and not on the new PC. There are many differences between the 2 systems, but I can confirm the Media is OK.

The two most obvious differences - OLD PC: CD rom and XP SP1; New PC DVD-R and XP SP2

I have seen this error posted by many people in a number of forums, but nobody has any suggestions that seem to address the root cause.

Help! I love my GTA and I am missing it!

I agree, I've not yet seen a solution that works 100% of the time. I guess the solution I've seen work more often is the one in which you change the running mode to Windows 98.

Seeing as you're basically posting a problem, you'd be better off posting a whole new topic in these troubleshooting forums. You'll get a wider response, and hence a larger chance of coming to a viable solution.

I'm afraid I've got no other solutions. You'll have to hope someone else who's encountered the problem has come up with a way of fixing it.

If you do manage to find a solution, be it on these forums or otherwise, I'd appreciate it if you could take the time to PM me the solution or post it on these forums. It'd be most appreciated.

Red_Machine

I have the Win XP SP2 problem. Is it just because I have SP2? It worked fine before.Also, I notice that on the bottom of the box, where the compatability area is, it says "Wndows XP (Home and Professional, Service Pack 1 required)" Does this mean that it is not compatible with SP2.

Spuds725

Solution: The next time the PC was started after installing the game, I noticed that a new piece of hardware was trying to install, called "secdrv." Go to Device Manager, look for a big yellow ? mark to indicate hardware with no driver, and there was secdrv. Deleted secdrv from the Device Manager and the game started up fine after.

Justin

Also, I notice that on the bottom of the box, where the compatability area is, it says "Wndows XP (Home and Professional, Service Pack 1 required)" Does this mean that it is not compatible with SP2.

No, it's because when the box was manufactured, Service Pack 2 wasn't released yet. Service Pack 1 was the latest, so that's what the box says is a minimum requirement.

I personally have Vice City PC on XP SP2, and it works fine.

Regarding the topic - I've just spent an hour or two completely fixing up the topic. I added credit links to all the appropriate people, and I got rid of those rather useless 'solutions' which just said to look at Take2 Games. And I made the topic look a lot tider and neater and all that jazz.

Karcus

On problem #7 the solution mention that Window Blinds prevents the game from starting. That is not 100% correct. I been using version 4.5 build 185 since late last year and VC works fine for me. I know WB have some issues with other programs like Photoshop CS and stuff. Just wanted to clear that up.

Justin

On problem #7 the solution mention that Window Blinds prevents the game from starting. That is not 100% correct. I been using version 4.5 build 185 since late last year and VC works fine for me. I know WB have some issues with other programs like Photoshop CS and stuff. Just wanted to clear that up.

Ta.

Problem #7 changed from:

QUOTE

For Window Blinds users, you must disable Window Blinds. Otherwise GTA Vice City will not run.

to:

QUOTE

For Window Blinds users, you may have to disable it. Window Blinds sometimes causes conflict with GTA Vice City.

Kyouryuu

I bought GTA:VC PC today and saw the direct results of problem 12. Following the advice of changing the compatibility mode to Windows 98 / ME and getting the 1.1 patch, I was still having issues where the GTA:VC window would keep minimizing. It turns out the culprit was [email protected], a distributed computing program similar to [email protected] They seem aware of this conflict between their graphical client and other programs (Sim City 4 was mentioned), but I'm three-for-three with this. If [email protected] was open, GTA:VC wouldn't work. If [email protected] was closed, it did.

Justin

I bought GTA:VC PC today and saw the direct results of problem 12. Following the advice of changing the compatibility mode to Windows 98 / ME and getting the 1.1 patch, I was still having issues where the GTA:VC window would keep minimizing. It turns out the culprit was [email protected], a distributed computing program similar to [email protected] They seem aware of this conflict between their graphical client and other programs (Sim City 4 was mentioned), but I'm three-for-three with this. If [email protected] was open, GTA:VC wouldn't work. If [email protected] was closed, it did.

Hope this may help someone!

Thanks mate, I've added it to the listed solutions, and provided a link to the source (you).

Just a general note, it's much appreciated when you guys take a little time to post your own working solutions to problems you've encountered. So cheers, and keep up the good work contributing to the community.

Asswipe

I think i may have something to say about problem 12. After installing GTA VC on my pc, i was confronted with the same " spinning cd by the mouse pointer " problem. I looked up on these forums about a possible solution and before i could try any, i had solved my problem.

It was norton anti-virus 2005. If you have any anti-virus program running, try disabling it. Although i had to uninstall it, disabling it or any other anti-virus you may be running could just solve your problem.

Not only did it solve this problem, but i also managed to get " Enter The Matrix " to run, which had benn sitting on a shelf gathering dust until today.Hoorah!

Justin

I think i may have something to say about problem 12. After installing GTA VC on my pc, i was confronted with the same " spinning cd by the mouse pointer " problem. I looked up on these forums about a possible solution and before i could try any, i had solved my problem.

It was norton anti-virus 2005. If you have any anti-virus program running, try disabling it. Although i had to uninstall it, disabling it or any other anti-virus you may be running could just solve your problem.

Not only did it solve this problem, but i also managed to get " Enter The Matrix " to run, which had benn sitting on a shelf gathering dust until today.Hoorah!

Levigas

One solution for Problem #4: I have a geforce fx5200 and had the problem#4 before.I tried everything that this forum contained, and nothing helped. The solution is: Video drivers! I realised that new nVIDIA drivers are NOT working good with GTA VC. The new driver set made my gameplay a nightmare (video locks up, sound plays and after some time, the game unfreezes, repeatedly). I tried the old video driver (61.76 version nVIDIA geforce driver), and with that, the game never freezed, no weird or laggy graphics. It was working for me, try it if anything else fails.

Justin

One solution for Problem #4: I have a geforce fx5200 and had the problem#4 before.I tried everything that this forum contained, and nothing helped. The solution is: Video drivers! I realised that new nVIDIA drivers are NOT working good with GTA VC. The new driver set made my gameplay a nightmare (video locks up, sound plays and after some time, the game unfreezes, repeatedly). I tried the old video driver (61.76 version nVIDIA geforce driver), and with that, the game never freezed, no weird or laggy graphics. It was working for me, try it if anything else fails.

Levigas

Hello, and thank you for posting your alternative solution. It's very much appreciated.

I've added it to the front page and supplied a link to the solution source (your post).

irondiva

>>Textures take too long to load, or when loading a saved game or starting a new one, the 'loading' screen (pink text) remains on screen for ages.

Solution: Turn frame limiter on. If it's already on, turn it off. <<

I think this is me, and yeah, I saved my game at the Ice Cream Factory.

What is the frame limiter, and will this tactic work, despite the fact that I saved at the ICF? I'm playing on PC, Windows XP.

Brand new games start up just fine, and I also have a game saved at Copland. It's just killing me that I might have to take up the game from an earlier point, as it took me a million years to complete Demolition Man, and I have a ton of money.

Justin

Try it! No point lulling around waiting for someone else to tell you if it's going to work! The Cherry Poppers glitch is very rare - I've personally never encountered it and I am unsure as to whether it merits its own glitch in this topic (but that's another matter).

The frame limiter (quite literally) limits the amount of frames shown per second. If you've got a half-decent PC, this will provide smoother gameplay. If your PC is a little shoddy, it will mean slower gameplay.

Unfortunately, the fact that your new games start up fine indicates that it is indeed something to do with a specific saved game.

If you do end up having to start a new game, make sure to read up on Demarest's Code Tools (Gameplay related and Cheats related). Time Vault will prove incredibly helpful in getting you back to the rough stage of where you're at now.

fairct

i discovered something about problem #16, just in case anyone wonders why vice city ran so fast. it turns out that the code for vice city wasn't written to support dual-cores, and this causes the game to act abnormally. my solution of setting the .exe file's compatability mode to windows 98 works because it limits the executable to only one processor core. there is also a way to set the affinity of the exe file in task manager. simply run vice city, ctrl-alt-del out of it into task manager, find the process of the exe file, right click, click "Set Affinity...", and set it to only one of the cores. Note that this fix must be performed each time vice city is executed, while the compatability mode is a permanent fix as far as i know. The last fix should only be attempted by someone with a dual-core processor, in fact, the problem shouldn't occur otherwise lol. anyways, thought you folks might like to know the reason behind the problem.

Justin

i discovered something about problem #16, just in case anyone wonders why vice city ran so fast. it turns out that the code for vice city wasn't written to support dual-cores, and this causes the game to act abnormally. my solution of setting the .exe file's compatability mode to windows 98 works because it limits the executable to only one processor core. there is also a way to set the affinity of the exe file in task manager. simply run vice city, ctrl-alt-del out of it into task manager, find the process of the exe file, right click, click "Set Affinity...", and set it to only one of the cores. Note that this fix must be performed each time vice city is executed, while the compatability mode is a permanent fix as far as i know. The last fix should only be attempted by someone with a dual-core processor, in fact, the problem shouldn't occur otherwise lol. anyways, thought you folks might like to know the reason behind the problem.

Wow, thanks. Very enlightening.

I've added it to the problem/solution and given credit as due. Thanks very much.

Justin

i dont understand problem 7 with the unhandled eception thing, i dont understand wat window blinds is, can someone help and explain to me wat it is

If you don't know what it is, don't bother. A simple Google search would have yielded satisfactory results in any case, but whatever...

It's a program that allows you to edit the appearance and style of Windows. I don't know exactly, I don't use it, but that's the general gist of it. It's not really an issue - if you've got it, disable it, if not, don't worry.

There is some issue with the CD's and the CD-drive. My CD-drive is over 6 years old, works fine, but still had issues reading the game discs. So, I don't know what is happening with select machines not reading the Discs, both old and new it seems have the same problems. Firmware update did not help either btw.

So, since my game was installed, but crashing mainly at the Splash screen on load up, but I would also get the spinning disc problem I decided to eliminate the source of the problem.

There is some issue with the CD's and the CD-drive. My CD-drive is over 6 years old, works fine, but still had issues reading the game discs. So, I don't know what is happening with select machines not reading the Discs, both old and new it seems have the same problems. Firmware update did not help either btw.

So, since my game was installed, but crashing mainly at the Splash screen on load up, but I would also get the spinning disc problem I decided to eliminate the source of the problem.

Install the no CD crack, and the game works fine.

Thanks, added...

Just a note, while I'll let the solution pass, we're not going to go any further than mentioning the crack. No links, nothing else. While this is a legitimate use for it, the sad reality is that most aren't. Thanks.